


The Light and the Dark

by CaptainWeasley



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: I am so sorry, M/M, The Greatcoat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 16:46:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6087181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainWeasley/pseuds/CaptainWeasley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the defeat of the First Order, Hux is publicly executed as a war criminal in the New Republic. Kylo is left alone with his memories, Hux's coat and the sole purpose of destroying the person who betrayed his trust: Snoke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Light and the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> This story only exists because of [this](http://first-disorder.tumblr.com/post/139556067975/can-i-prompt-kylo-sleeping-with-huxs-coat) amazing fanart. 
> 
> God, I am so sorry. All of this is trash. This ship is trash and this story is trash and I might have given myself trash feelings when I wrote this and I am just so sorry for making others read it. Please forgive me.
> 
> Also, I must admit that I know virtually nothing about the world of Star Wars apart from the movies, so I took a few liberties where Force powers are concerned.
> 
> There's no real smut in this, but I rated it M anyway, just to be on the safe side.

"Mother, please, I need to see him!"

Kylo had never imagined that one day he would have to beg general Organa for anything, but here he was, degrading himself. In this prison he was cut off from the Force, and she was his only way of getting back to Hux.

"No," she said with a quiet finality through the heavy iron bars. "You would try to rescue him, and I can't let that happen. The court sentenced the general to death, and as much as I despise the death penalty, I cannot deny that the people need closure. A final symbol for our victory. Letting you near him..." 

She took a deep breath, looking at him almost fondly, almost. 

"You'd find a way to free him. It's too big of a risk. I'm sorry, Ben."

He could see the pain in her eyes, hear the pity in her voice, but he felt nothing but loating for her in that moment, nothing but hatred.

"Don't call me that," he whispered through clenched teeth. "Don't ever call me that again."

~~~

Once again, Kylo woke to a familiar sight: Hux was curled up against his side, his head lying on Kylo's chest, he was reading some sort of engineering report on the datapad he was holding in one hand.

Without even thinking about it, his hand went to Hux's hair, messing it up, and he grinned as Hux turned around and glared at him.

"Stop it," the redhead grumbled, but at this point that was just out of habit and tradition. Kylo found some sort of perverse pleasure in messing up his hair, and by now Hux had stopped pretending that he hated it.

Kylo kissed him before Hux settled back onto his chest, emerged in his report. At first, Kylo had been annoyed by Hux's habit of starting to work right after waking up, but it had become reassuring somehow. Seeing Hux work when Kylo woke up meant that everything was right with the world. 

Kylo closed his eyes again, his fingers ghosting over Hux's back, caressing his shoulders, his neck, running along his spine.

Hux's mind radiated annoyance as well as pleasure, even though pleasure was winning quickly.

"You know I can't concentrate like this," he chided Kylo, and Kylo was grinning again.

"Uh-huh."

Hux shook his head slightly, then he put the pad back on the bedside table and turned towards Kylo.

"Nerfherder," he mumbled fondly before kissing him.

~~~

Kylo was fighting against his physical restraints to no avail, tried to break through the Force barrier Rey had put up around him. She had done her job well, he had to admit grudgingly, cutting him off from the Force almost completely. He could feel nothing but a small trickle of the power that usually came to him so easily, so wholly. It wasn't enough to escape.

He wanted to scream, wanted to weep, but there were people watching him, and he wasn't about to publicly humiliate himself even more than he already was.

Two guards brought Hux out before the waiting masses, and Kylo was relieved to see that he was still holding himself proudly, still standing upright, still unbroken. Kylo felt a fierce pride at the sight. Hux was wearing his First Order uniform, immaculate as ever, not one hair was out of place. That was probably also a goddamned _symbol_ , as general Organa had called it, letting them see Hux the way he had always been, the perfect general of the First Order, about to be crushed by the Resistance.

Rage flared up inside Kylo at the thought. It made it easier to connect to the pitiful amount of power he could still muster up. He needed to hear Hux's thoughts, needed their emotions to meld once again, needed to tell him—

He sent out his thoughts towards Hux, desperately, more akin to a scream than to actual words. Hux looked up and found his eyes.

_Kylo._

His voice was soft, their connection nothing like what it used to be, but Kylo clung to it like his life depended on it.

He could sense some of Hux's emotions, fear and desperation and hopelessness and a burning desire to not show any of those to the thousands of people who were watching him. There was a familiar warmth there also, almost imperceptible underneath the other feelings, directed at Kylo alone.

Someone, a woman, began reading Hux's sentence to the eagerly awaiting crowd, and Kylo knew: this was it. He wasn't strong enough to rescue Hux now. He hadn't been strong enough to save him then.

He knew that Hux could feel his shame, and the pain helped him, focused him as it had so many times before, as if this moment was what he had trained for all his life. 

He strengthened the connection to Hux. He needed to tell him now, before it was too late.

_I love you,_ Kylo thought desperately, _I love you, I love you, I love you._

Why had he never said it before? They'd had so much time together, so many opportunities to say it, to make the words a happy memory. This would never be a happy memory.

He could feel Hux's pain as clearly as his own now, see the rapidly progressing images in his mind: their first kiss; the day on Garvin IV and the way Kylo held him that night; _Stupid Ren in his stupid mask_ , accompanied by absurd amusement at his long since gone resentment towards Kylo; waking up in Kylo's arms, feeling warm and safe; Kylo leaving his things lying around in his quarters, always so disorganised; the feeling of Kylo's mind in his own, familiar and reassuring; Kylo's eyes, Kylo's hands, Kylo's warmth, the feeling of Kylo's hair between his fingers...

For a moment, there was a question in Hux's mind: _Do you really need to hear me say it?_

And Kylo screamed _Yes, yes I need to hear it, I need to hear it before it's too late, I love you, I love you so much._

_I love you too._

There were silent tears streaming down Kylo's face, and he couldn't wipe them away with his hands bound, it would draw too much attention to his weakness. But there wasn't anyone looking at him, nobody who cared about Kylo Ren right now.

The woman stopped reading. It was almost time. Kylo wasn't ready.

There were no more words between him and Hux. Just emotions, and memories, and the unspoken plea to hold onto their connection until the very last moment.

~~~

"Shut up, Hux."

The general scoffed.

"Make me," he countered, even though he had to be fully aware that it would be the easiest thing in the world for Kylo to keep him from talking. Force-choking people was really very basic stuff. It would be much too easy, Kylo realised, and maybe that was what Hux had counted on. Well, if he wanted a challenge, he was getting one.

Kylo needed only a moment to decide how to react to the dare. He would never actually admit to it, but he had contemplated kissing Hux quite a few times. The general was just so damn _infuriating_ sometimes, all Kylo wanted was to press his lips to his and make him moan and beg, force him to abandon his military discipline for a few hours.

He would make him shut up, alright.

They looked at each other for a moment, then Kylo grabbed the back of his head and pulled Hux towards him. 

The general's lips were much softer than they looked, softer than they had any right to be. Hux froze for a second, and Kylo had to make an effort to suppress his smirk. Hux hadn't anticipated _this_ , that much was certain.

Then Hux kissed him back, grabbing his hair, his usually carefully guarded mind suddenly open to Kylo. Hux had wanted this for a long time, Kylo understood suddenly, his suppressed desire abruptly washing over him.

Kylo didn't realise until much later that in that moment he too had projected his feelings towards Hux involuntarily, that their first night together had only happened because they each could feel how much the other had longed for this. And it took him even longer to understand that Hux had opened his mind to him on purpose that night.

~~~

Kylo felt Hux's consciousness flicker away, and the pain was too much. It was stronger than Rey would ever be, stronger than anything that she could do to restrain him. He could feel the Force again, suddenly, intense within him, if only it had come back a few seconds earlier. 

The girl was no match for him now, and he crushed her barrier easily, only barely registering the shock and fear in the people around him as he broke out of his physical restraints as well. He almost laughed out loud. How stupid the New Republic was to make him watch the execution, like they didn't know that pain made him stronger. And Kylo had never held as much power within him as he did now.

He concentrated on Hux's body, and a second later he was kneeling beside him, the two guards who had been standing next to him killed without a second thought. 

People were shouting, screaming, some guards were firing their blasters at him, but they were no match for Kylo, the barrier around him stronger than their laughable weapons. 

Hux looked almost peaceful, his red hair still perfect, and before he could think better of it, Kylo mussed it up with one hand, the way he had done so many times before. Now Hux was supposed to glare at him, tell him to stop messing with his hair, it was a fundamental rule of the universe. But he didn't react, didn't open his eyes. Kylo could barely feel the hot tears on his face, everything inside him was numb now, and suddenly he knew that he wasn't strong enough to fight off hundreds of guards and his uncle and the girl anymore. He had to get out of there before it was too late. He couldn't bear to take Hux's body with him.

There was a split-second to decide what to do, and Kylo could think of nothing else than to take Hux's coat, easy enough since Hux always just draped it over his shoulders, never wore it with his arms in the sleeves. Incomprehensibly, he smiled at the thought. Why the hell was he smiling?

Kylo looked around. He could see a few shuttles, probably there for the more prestigious audience members, and he concentrated on one of them at random. A moment later, he found himself kneeling inside the shuttle, mercifully empty. Teleporting was supposed to be one of the most uncommon abilities among Force-users, but Kylo found it surprisingly easy.

His only advantage was that the people didn't yet know which shuttle he was in, but that would change as soon as he fired up the engine. He needed a distraction, a diversion, anything... But his mind was blank, he couldn't think straight, he had never been a brilliant strategist like Hux, had never learned to compartmentalise like him, had never thought that one day he would need the ability.

_So what if they shoot me down,_ he thought defiantly, _so what if I die, it doesn't make a difference._

~~~

_This is weird,_ Hux said in his mind, his brow furrowed in concentration.

_You'll get used to it._ Kylo thought it almost dismissively, no doubt in his mind that Hux would get the hang of this kind of communication sooner rather than later. He was a highly intelligent man, after all, and a quick study.

_I'll get used to it? So, what, this is going to be a thing now? You come here unannounced, we fuck each other's brains out, you mess up my quarters and my sleep schedule—_

Kylo laughed out loud at this, and Hux looked at him sternly, changing to verbal communication once again.

"I'm not joking, Ren. You're a menace."

Kylo didn't know how to put his feelings into words, so he just projected them to Hux: that he had laughed because what Hux had said was _just so Hux_ , and he liked hearing things that were _just so Hux_ , that maybe he messed up his quarters on purpose because he liked the way Hux glared at him afterwards, that he liked sleeping with Hux in every possible sense of the phrase, how beautiful he thought the general was.

That last one wasn't quite what Kylo had wanted Hux to see, but that was the way of communicating via one's mind: sometimes, the connection revealed too much. It couldn't be helped. Hux shook his head slightly as he tried to make sense of Kylo's thoughts, looking like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

"This is weird," he said again, this time out loud. He concentrated once more, and suddenly Kylo could see that maybe Hux liked how Kylo messed up his quarters and his sleep schedule, that Hux liked to look at Kylo's face entirely too much, that he really wanted to kiss down Kylo's body and take him in his mouth right now.

Kylo raised an eyebrow, a smile spreading over his face.

"I'm not opposed to the idea."

~~~

He was almost shocked when he woke up to realise that he was still alive, still breathing, out of the grasp of the Resistance and the New Republic, safe on one of the planets where Hux had secretly built safehouses and hideouts just in case, always prepared for anything. Kylo had changed ships more times than he could remember, wiping the memories of the people who had seen him along the way, had made himself virtually untraceable.

He had draped Hux's coat over himself before falling asleep, and now his face was half buried in it, and it still smelled like Hux, faintly. This time he allowed himself to weep openly, nobody was here to see him now. He could not live without him, needed the soothing presence of his mind, needed to feel his skin on his, needed to hear his voice, needed him needed him needed him. 

He could feel himself falling apart as the sobs shook his whole body, and the only person who could have put him back together was gone, had been ripped from him, only his scent remained. He wanted to die in that moment, so badly to die, wanted the nightmare to end. There was no reason for him to go on living when he couldn't share his life with Hux.

~~~

"Supreme Leader, we need you!"

The noises of the fight were audible even in the audience chamber, distant but slowly closing in on them. 

"The Resistance will emerge victorious without your guidance."

Kylo was on his knees, pleading, knowing that the damn girl was stronger than him now, that he couldn't best her without the help of his master. Hux was still standing, never abandoning his military posture, but through their mental connection Kylo could feel the fear and panic inside him. Snoke laughed, and Kylo looked up in shock.

"You really think I would help you." He looked at them, and for the first time, Kylo could see contempt directed at him in his master's face. He could feel Hux's heart skip a beat, and he had the unreasonable urge to take his hand in support. But he remained where he was, kneeling, not ready to believe what he was hearing.

"You are weak," Snoke hissed. "Weak and foolish, not deserving of my guidance."

He straightened in his chair. "I have all the time in the world. If necessary, I will wait for a thousand years until I find a pupil worthy of me. If you cannot defeat the girl on your own, you deserve to be crushed by the Resistance."

The holoprojection flickered away, and there was a long, stunned silence between Kylo and Hux. 

Kylo's own humiliation and shame were prominent in his mind, but he was still connected to Hux's emotions, and could feel his thoughts racing, the way he was frantically looking for a way out of this.

"Are you sure that she's stronger than you?"

Kylo stood up, looking into Hux's eyes.

"Yes," he breathed, feeling like she had already defeated him.

Hux looked like he wanted to say something, but was unable to. Their minds melded together only moments after their lips did, and Kylo clung to Hux desperately, trying to show him the emotions he couldn't put into words, and Hux was doing the same.

For a moment, the future was chrystal clear before Kylo's eyes. The First Order would be defeated, and they would be taken prisoner, never to see each other again.

He almost said the three words then, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do it. Hux knew, anyway, there was no way he didn't know, not after everything that had happened, not after everything they'd done together.

_I know,_ Hux assured him.

They broke the kiss, and then Hux's fingers were ghosting over his face, like he was touching him for the last time, wanting to commit every inch of him to memory; and Kylo was doing the same to him, looking into his bright green eyes, almost saying it, so close to saying it.

"We're not giving up without a fight," Hux whispered. "Promise me, Kylo, promise me you will kill as many of them as you can. And I don't care what they do to me, just promise me..."

He couldn't go on, and Kylo had never seen him like that, on the verge of breaking, could feel his raw pain as he realised his whole life's work was falling apart around him.

"I promise, Hux," Kylo said, never breaking eye-contact, "I promise."

~~~

Kylo wondered how he had never seen the betrayal coming. Of course Snoke would never do anything to put himself in danger. Of course he wouldn't have helped them. He stayed in the shadows, letting others do his dirty work, abandoning even his most loyal servants once their usefulness had run its course.

Kylo had shown weakness several times over the years, but he had always proved useful, ever the obedient servant, the loyal follower. Just as the First Order had been useful to Snoke, up to the point where the Resistance was stronger.

Snoke had always told Kylo that he believed in him, that with enough training he could become strong enough to leave the light completely. What an amazing lie that had been. It had blinded Kylo to Snoke's true nature, but he saw everything quite clearly now. It had been Snoke who had first shown him the power of the dark side, Snoke who had lured him away from his family, his home, Snoke who had made empty promises for years in order to bind Kylo to him, Snoke who had ultimately betrayed him. 

Somehow, Kylo couldn't hate general Organa anymore for what she had done. She had done exactly what a general of the Resistance was supposed to do, exactly what she had promised to do, her actions weren't based on betrayal. She hadn't even been responsible for Hux's execution, a New Republic council had ordered that. And they would have never gotten to Hux if Snoke hadn't let them. Once Kylo understood that, all of his rage and hate turned against his former master.

He would find him, he vowed to himself as he cradled Hux's coat in his arms, he would find him and he would end him.

~~~

Hux had rescued him, back on Starkiller, and afterwards Kylo had just assumed that one day he would be able to do the same for Hux, if he ever needed it. He never would have dreamed that the one time Hux needed his help, he would be too weak to save him.

~~~

Kylo was sure that his death was imminent, blood pooling around him in the snow, the ground below him breaking open, ready to swallow him. He thought of Hux, of his glorious speech only a few days ago, how much he'd wanted to go up to him and kiss him right before the entire army, and Hux's response to the thought: _If you do that, Kylo, I am going to murder you with your own damn lightsaber._ He had meant every word.

Kylo smiled as he was bleeding out in the snow, he could see Hux's eyes quite clearly before him, that beautiful shade of green that could be found nowhere else in the galaxy; he even thought he could hear the familiar melody of his thoughts, full of both panic and determination, could swear he was hearing him giving orders to stormtroopers to fetch a stretcher.

A stretcher? What did he need that for? Kylo couldn't remember Hux ever requesting a stretcher anywhere, so why was he imagening it now?

He closed his eyes, and now only Hux's thoughts remained, their patterns familiar and comforting. Kylo supposed he wouldn't ever really hear them again, a realisation that was much more painful than his bodily wounds. Never to see Hux again... It was a horrible prospect, even worse than death itself—

_Quit your whining, you nerfherder._

Hux's thoughts conveyed just how hard the general was rolling his eyes, but it was an affectionate eye-roll, and with it came the thought that rolling his eyes at Kylo was one of his favourite pastimes.

_I'm hallucinating,_ Kylo told himself firmly. _I'm about to die and I'm hallucinating._

He wondered if Darth Vader had hallucinated before his death, and Kylo found himself hoping that he had.

Now Hux's thoughts were full of laughter, more comforting than it had any right to be.

_You'll live, Kylo. But believe me, you'll never live this down._

~~~

Even though Kylo had been tutored by Snoke for years and knew more than enough about his vessel, his habits and his usual itinerary, it still took him months to locate him. He supposed that after Snoke had learned of Kylo's escape from the Resistance, he had become a lot more careful. The good thing was that Snoke had never anticipated this turn of events, sure that Kylo would be imprisoned or killed by the Resistance, and therefore had not been prepared to go into hiding from his former apprentice. There were whispers about him and the remaining Knights of Ren in the far corners of the galaxy, rumors that most people dared not speak of when they weren't persuaded to do so with the help of the Force, and Kylo followed them tirelessly. 

He spent a lot of his time meditating, trying to find disturbances in the Force that pointed to the man who had betrayed him. He also spent a lot of his time preparing for the inevitable confrontation. His body became harder, his mind sharper, it all only existed for a single purpose: to kill Snoke. His connection with the Force was more stable now than it had ever been. It had been a mistake to run away from the light, Kylo could see that now. He would never finish what Darth Vader had started, there was no reason for him to deny the light inside him any longer. The only thing he lived for now was to avenge Hux. 

Soon after his escape from the Resistance, Kylo had found that it was easy for him to combine both sides of the Force, to draw on the powers of each. And just as soon, he realised that Snoke had lied about this to him as well. He had told him that Kylo would become more powerful the fuller he committed himself to the dark side. He had deliberately kept Kylo from reaching his full potential.

~~~

"Can't you at least _try_ not to stab me in the stomach with your elbow?"

Hux snorted.

" _Sorry_ ," he said sarcastically, "Can't you try to behave like an adult for a change?"

Kylo stared at the back of Hux's head indignantly.

"I just asked you to move your elbow, you're the one who's making a big deal out of it."

"Well, maybe I could move my elbow if your arm wasn't in the way."

Kylo groaned in frustration.

"My arm isn't in the way, it's just lying there!"

"Yes, that is my point exactly. It is lying there and it keeps me from moving my elbow."

"Can you stop being so difficult about this?"

"Can you stop being a pain in my ass?"

There was a short silence, each refusing to back down by moving their arm first. 

If Kylo was to be perfectly honest, he didn't actually mind Hux's elbow all that much. Not that he would ever tell him that.

"Maybe you should request a bigger bed."

"And when I'm asked for the reason of the request, I'll just tell them that it's because Kylo Ren is an insufferable idiot who can't just cuddle with his boyfriend like a normal person."

"Did you just say boyfriend?"

Kylo grinned, beside himself.

"No."

"You said boyfriend."

"Shut up, Ren."

~~~

Kylo kept his hair short now, there was no point in growing it out if Hux wasn't there to run his fingers through it, to tell him that he liked it. He could not find joy in food anymore, and simply ate what he needed in order to keep his body functioning. Sleep was treacherous, as his dreaming mind liked to dwell on memories that the waking Kylo did not want to be reminded of, and more often than not Kylo woke up abruptly, his face wet with sweat and tears, the images still vivid before his eyes.

Kylo still used Hux's coat as a blanket, the one constant in his life now, the life where he went from planet to planet, from star system to star system, changing ships, clothes and names more often than he bothered to count. It had long lost Hux's scent, and without the reminder Kylo wasn't sure if he remembered it right. What colour had his eyes been, exactly? There were days when Kylo couldn't picture them, and he hated himself for it, and there were night when he saw those eyes in his dreams, clear as day, and he hated himself for that, too.

He wished he could openly wear the coat while travelling, but of course that was impossible. Not only was it far too recognizable, too easy to track, but Kylo's shoulders were also too broad to fit into the slim coat comfortably. Had Hux really been so much more skinny than him? Kylo wasn't sure.

~~~

Kylo felt like he was addicted to Hux, ever since their first night together a week ago he couldn't get him out of his head. That they had been meeting almost every night since didn't exactly help, but Kylo wasn't about to complain. 

They hadn't really discussed this new development yet. Kylo didn't want it to stop, whatever it was, that was all he knew. He didn't even have any idea what his feelings concerning Hux _were_. He didn't despise him anymore, like he had when he'd first met him, that much was certain. But beyond that...

Kylo's thoughts were interrupted as he reached the door to Hux's quarters. He quickly scanned the vicinity for possibly approaching people, and when he couldn't find anyone, he removed his helmet before requesting entry. He would have preferred leaving it in his own quarters in the first place, but he couldn't be too careful. He wouldn't risk being seen without it.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Kylo found himself kissing Hux, needing him. Who cared what they were to each other? As long as these late-night visits continued, it didn't really matter.

They had become quite proficient in removing each other's clothing, and soon, piles of discarded dark fabric littered the floor between Hux's door and his bed. 

Kylo was kissing the back of Hux's neck, making his way to the light freckles that covered his shoulders. He loved those freckles, had been delighted by them ever since he had discovered them. Hux sighed quietly as Kylo's hand closed around his cock, setting a teasingly slow rhythm. Their mental connection was manifesting itself again, but the images from Hux were rather jumbled, most of them unclear beyond a general sense of lust and anticipation. Kylo made a mental note to do something about that in the near future. Hux was evidently Force-sensitive, at least to a small degree, and with proper instruction he should have no problem communicating mentally.

But that was a task for another day, Kylo thought, as he sunk his teeth into the soft flesh of Hux's shoulder.

~~~

Snoke was snarling. Power was radiating off him, but Kylo was not intimidated. Snoke was tiring, he could tell, soon this fight would come to an end.

The remaining Knights of Ren had been no match for Kylo, even back in the old days he had been stronger than them. Their corpses were strewn around the hall, Snoke had done nothing to protect them. Kylo's anger flared up when he contemplated this. He did not care about the Knights, but it reminded him sharply of Snoke's earlier betrayal of him and Hux, of all the reasons he had to kill him.

Their lightsabers made contact furiously, their sounds strangely calming to Kylo.

"So you think I'm responsible for the death of your _boyfriend_?" 

It was supposed to be a taunt, designed to weaken Kylo, but hearing the words gave him strength, and once again he felt like laughing out loud in the face of an enemy. Snoke was just as stupid as the Resistance and the New Republic, ignorant of the fact that pain made him stronger.

"Think about who really killed him."

Their lightsabers clashed into each other viciously, again and again. Kylo could feel the dark side of the Force inside him, lending him strength.

"The Resistance sentenced him to death. You couldn't protect him."

Kylo channelled his anger and pain into his attacks, and Snoke was losing ground now, forced to retreat into a defensive position. Kylo could suddenly see Hux's face clearly, his bright green eyes glaring at him, could remember his voice with such startling clarity.

But Hux's memory was so much more than just pain. Kylo could feel both the dark and the light side of the Force intimately, not separated but conjoined, and suddenly he understood that this was how they were supposed to be seen. The Jedi and the Sith had gotten it all wrong, just like his mother and uncle, just like Snoke, just like Kylo himself, once upon a time.

He let the dark and the light flow through him, and in one graceful motion, he broke through Snoke's defences and plunged his lightsaber into his former master's heart.

Time froze for a second. Snoke looked at him, and Kylo thought that for the first time, Snoke was really _seeing_ him, seeing Kylo, seeing Ben. 

"If I die, you die as well."

And now Kylo smiled, because Snoke hadn't seen him after all, Snoke still understood nothing about him, didn't understand that Kylo no longer cared about dying, that killing Snoke had been his only reason to stay alive after Hux's death.

He smiled as Snoke fell to the floor in front of him, he smiled as he felt the explosion from the engine room rumble through the entire ship. Snoke had been clever to link the ship's self-destruction to his own death. 

He was still smiling when the ship was ripped apart and he was thrown into open space. The last thing he felt were Hux's lips on his own, much softer than they had any right to be.

_I love you too._


End file.
